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Potential energy, stored energy that depends upon the relative position of various parts of a system. Spring has more potential energy when it is compressed or stretched. A steel ball has more potential energy raised above the ground than it has after falling to the Earth. In the raised position it is capable of doing more work. Potential energy is a property of a system and not of an individual body or particle; the system composed of the Earth and the raised ball, for example, has more potential energy as the two are farther separated.
The potential energy of a system of particles depends only on their initial and final configurations; it is independent of the path the particles travel.
The formula for potential energy depends on the force acting on the two objects. For the gravitational force, the formula is P.E. = mgh, where m is the mass in kilograms, g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m / s2 at the surface of the earth) and h is the height in meters.
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